A Not So Surprising Discovery
by thinkingintheshower
Summary: Are you sure? Yes Chouji I'm absolutely positive. Just what exactly are Shikamaru and Chouji talking about? And what does this have to do with their teammate Ino? A collection of oneshots. Shikaino.
1. How to confess Shikamaru style

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I love all the characters in it

A Not So Surprising Discovery

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Chouji I'm absolutely positive."

"Very sure?"

As always Shikamaru didn't like it when people questioned his relationship with Yamanaka Ino. It all started when Ino came back from a mission that lasted more than 2 months. She had come back without any heavy injuries but Shikamaru had insisted she stay at home and rest for the next week because he thought she had a fever.

Ino, being the stubborn girl as always, had shot back, "AAwwhhh Shikamaru! Didn't know you cared that much!" And had kissed him on the check before leaving in a puff of smoke.

Fortunately or maybe unfortunately for Shikamaru, Chouji had been there at the gates of Konoha to witness the little scene unfold because he was just as worried about Ino. Obviously! Since she was always like the little sister he never had.

"Shikamaru. I really think you should stop being in denial! I saw how much your face flared up when she kissed you! Maybe she should've stayed a few more minutes then -"

Chouji was interrupted with a loud snort, "HEY! She kissed me on the cheek and I was so not embarrassed about it!"

With a really huge wolfish grin, "Heh Shikamaru I never said you were embarrassed about it. I just said you were flushed."

Knowing that he was trapped, Shikamaru finally gave in. "Ok, so I've liked her This time it was Chouji's turn to snort ok fine I've loved her for a little while… So what? It's not like anything is going to happen."

"You know… Maybe if u stopped calling her troublesome and asked her out on a date, all your problems will be solved." said Chouji wisely. He had started going out with a girl in the village who owned Korean Barbeque. He was just starting to dream about the love of his life when Shikamaru interrupted his thoughts.

"Do you really think I have a shot at this Chouji?" Shikamaru was the 'lazy genius' of Konoha but he could never ever figure out girls. He was confident on the battlefield, able to come up with about 200 strategies even under pressure but he could never say the right things to the girl that mattered the most to him.

"Of course you do buddy! I mean you've probably started liking her since we were teamed up in the same genin team. Shikamaru, we're all 23 now, not 12. I'm sure you're over the whole cooties thing by now. Take it from me buddy, the wife might shout at me all the time for going to missions so much and coming home late, but nothing beats the feeling of having someone to return to."

Nothing beats the feeling of having someone to return to ey Chouji? Wise words I guess. I never knew I would have fallen in love with such a troublesome girl… Oh right. Chouji said not to call her troublesome. But it's too weird! I've been saying that she's troublesome since we were kids! But yeah… Chouji is right. Returning to an empty apartment all the time is even more troublesome. That's it! I'm heading over there right now.

"Shikamaru? What exactly are you doing pounding on my apartment door at 2.30 in the morning??"

It's really a good thing that Ino decided to move out of her parents house… Inoichi might've stabbed me multiple times with kunai or shuriken if he knew I disturbed his baby girl's beauty sleep.

Although Shikamaru had just woken her up from her sleep, she was already awake enough to start shouting at him. And the white tank top and shorts was really not helping his brain to think… "I… Uuuhh-hh… thought I could tell you s-something to-tonight…"

Since when did Shikamaru stutter so badly thought Ino. Must be something big… "Alright then, come on in, you lazy boy."

As her nickname for him rolled smoothly from her lips, his brain managed to click back in place. "Actually I'm just going to say it to you right here right now. I've waited 11 years to say this and it just can't wait anymore."

"I want to be with you Yamanaka Ino. I know I call you troublesome all the time but it's only because… well…. I mean you really are troublesome…" A glare from Ino. "But you're the only girl that is so troublesome because I've fallen in love with all of you." The glare had changed to utmost surprise.

"I love the way you shout at me in the morning to get up because my mom just opens the window to let the freezing air come in. I love the way you wake me up from napping at my favourite cloud watching spot by laying your head down on my shoulder and yapping about all the new gossip you heard from Sakura. I love the way you nag at me because I know deep down you care and that you're just worried. Most of all… I love you because you're you. I wouldn't want it any other way."

At the end of his speech she was so astonished and shocked at his sincere words she couldn't even speak.

"You don't have to say anything… I know its hard to love such a lazy guy like me. I'm not handsome, not romantic, not -"

"Shikamaru. Just don't ruin the moment ok?" She leaned up and pressed her lips to his in a soft manner. So gentle that Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk against her lips.

"I see Chouji must've been able to convince you to tell me?" Ino asked with a sly smile after she broke the kiss. Her cheeks still flushed and red from their kiss but she left her arms around his neck.

"WHAT? How did you know about that?"

"Ehehe… Actually he knew I liked you and vise versa because he could just tell. He's our best friend Shikamaru, of course he knew. We didn't have to say anything about it."

"Aaahhhh is that so?" He sneaked his arms around her waist and gave her a chaste kiss. "I think we should treat him to all you can eat with us tomorrow"

"Of course we should! I mean our wallets will probably be so empty and we would have to go for so many more missions to make up for it. Then we can take him out and …"

Shikamaru had already tuned her out by then and thought of a very sneaky plan. Why use your lips for such a boring task when they could be used for much better purposes?

Oh yeaaaa Chouji, even just thinking about knowing that I now have someone to return to is freaking awesome.

"NARA SHIKAMARU! Did you just kiss me because you wanted to shut me up?!"

Aaahhh damn… It was a really good plan in my head! But nyehhh Ino is Ino and that's what I fell in love with… Troublesome.

"Oh by the way. You. Me. Date tomorrow."


	2. A Shinobi's Typical Day at Home

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I love all the characters in it

A Shinobi's Typical Day at Home

I can't believe she did that. She made me RUN. Me! Nara Shikamaru, the lazy genius of Konoha rarely runs unless I'm in a mission. So much for being a genius… I was tricked by my own wife.

"Oh come on Shikamaru… Don't be sulky! I'm only going to be gone for a day!"

The sneaky woman had left me a note on their queen sized bed saying that I had to take care of 'them' today. I had run down the stairs of our house to corner her before she left in breakneck speed. Something i rarely ever did unless, like I said before, am in a mission. I try to win her over by putting on my best puppy dog pout but this time she's prepared already.

"Alright. It's time for me to go to the gates. Come on Shikamaru! It's not that bad! They're your sons. Not little monsters out to eat you. If you can carry out S-class missions without getting any scratches, I'm sure you can handle your 5 year old sons.

"Ino."

"What?"

"I loooovveee yooouuuu".

"That's not going to work on me again Shikamaru."

Aaahh should've known I couldn't use the same trick twice. Heh at least I tried. The first time I tried it, it worked perfectly! I didn't have to take care of the two monsters, cook breakfast, lunch or dinner, wash the dishes, wash the clothes, clean the house and the other troublesome things that I'm forced to face when she leaves on missions like these. Sure, she took less missions now that they had children but in order to help out she still took missions so she could rely on herself to buy what she wanted instead of asking her husband all the time. Oh thank god I didn't marry a lazy person like me.

Ino kissed him squarely on the lips and was about to leave when she discovered that her husband had sneakily put an arm around her waist to stop her from moving.

"Shikamaru." was said in a very stern voice. "You know I have to go… It's only going to be for a day." She put her arms around him to ensure him of that and whispered in his ears that she promised not to get hurt.

"Promise? If I find one scratch on you… I'm entitled to a week of massages."

"WHAT? Hey I'm usually the one who does all the housework and yet if I get a small scratch I have to give you massages for an entire week?!"

"Heh. Of course you do love. Since you're leaving me to take care of our two little mons- I mean angels I'm definitely going to be really stressed out. What better way to unwind that a really good massage from my sexy wife?"

"Fine fine. I agree to your terms." She kissed him one more time on lips and he released her. "And will you please go back upstairs before someone sees you in just your boxers?"

"Hey what's wrong with that? I happen to like my blue boxers with white clouds on them! It's original and it's very me!"

"Sssuuureee… I wonder what your children will say if they knew daddy wore boxers like that?"

"Fine fine I'll go back up and take a shower right after you go." He didn't want to kids to know what kind of boxers he wore. It would be just plain weird if his kids then told the other kids who will then of course tell their parents and then their parents will of course be one of his friends who will obviously then tease Shikamaru endlessly about it. It was a long chain of processes which was definitely too troublesome.

"I love you."

"I know you do"

"Stupid! You're supposed to say it back Shikamaru!!" A punch on the shoulder.

"OK ok I love you too. Now get going you're already 10 minutes late."

"WHAT? And you didn't tell me?!"

Shikamaru watched as his wife ran towards the gates and then headed back upstairs to take a shower.

After confessing to Ino 6 years ago, they had gotten married immediately because Ino felt that they were already dating for pretty much their whole lives. Another thing was that nobody ever went out with Ino because Shikamaru was always with her and if any guy was believed to want to date Ino, he would 'take care' of it. Meaning that he would threaten the guy with just a glare. Having a reputation of a lazy genius that could snap your neck with his shadow in a few seconds came in handy plenty of times.

Shikamaru had always remained single and it wasn't because he wasn't a looker. He was actually the heart throb of the village because of his slighty tanned skin, unique hairstyle (to which Ino would always snort and say it looked more like a black pineapple, but then secretly think that it was gorgeous). A lot of girls had tried chasing after him but a look from Ino would already scare them off.

Everyone already knew about this. Naruto would consistently bug them about their relationship, Kiba would do the same. Chouji always had a cheesy grin whenever he saw them hanging out, just the two of them. Oh and don't forget their parents. At least Inoichi didn't kill him, on the contrary he was very glad that Shikamaru, son of his best friend, was warding off the hormonal boys that chased after Ino. Shikato knew about his son's situation and decided to secretly buy another house in preparation for a wedding he knew was going to happen.

He was still recalling his past memories with a smile stuck on his face when he heard a crash. Quickly washing off the last remains of soap of his body he rushed out with a towel and ran towards the room of his 5 year old sons, Shikaji and Shikanoihi.

"Eeeerrr… Hi dad!" Both his twins chorused in perfect sync.

"Oh my god. You two broke the bed again? That's the second time this month boys!"

"Well dad maybe you should get us better beds?" Shikaji huffed as he sat down on the floor.

"You know… These beds are made out of the strongest wood in the Nara Clan forest and yet you still managed to break it. I made those beds boys. Do you know how much work it was? And that it was so-"

"Troublesome? Awh come on how about this. Since we have no school at the academy today, how about we help you make new ones?" Shikanoichi asked innocently, his bright blue eyes shining with excitement to get to spend time with his dad.

"Mmmmmm…"

"Awh come on dad! You know you want all the help you can get!"

"Fine. Shikaji? Shikanoichi? Ready to get loads of work done with your old man today?"

"YEAAA!!" the twins high fived and did a little dance while running towards the bathroom to get showered up and changed.

I think I should call my own old man to help me out. Someone only knows how much help I need now that the two monsters are coming with me into the forest. He always called his twins little monsters but in reality, they were good boys who knew when to listen to their parents. They were just too full of energy! When he wanted to spend time with Ino they just couldn't get to sleep! They would bounce and bounce on their bed and get Ino so tired that by the time she did have time for him she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The wood was collected from the forest, was cut according to the prints and designs drawn by Shikamaru and everything was ready and safe for the boys to join him in putting the beds together. Since Shikamaru was working without a shirt on, it was just waaayyy too hot in Konoha to be putting on too many layers of clothing. The boys insisted on being just like their father. So in the backyard of the Nara household, a full grown man could be seen telling two little boys what to do. They worked hard the whole afternoon, stopping only to greet their grandparents when they came to drop off food. They knew how Shikamaru wasn't a great cook and so took the liberty to cook extra and bring it over.

Although the two boys managed to do a bit of the work, by 9pm they were so tired running around that Shikamaru had no choice but to get them showered up, have dinner and let them sleep in his bedroom. He would sleep on the couch and Ino could sleep with the kids.

It was past 10pm and Shikamaru was still working on the 2nd bed, it was almost done, he just needed to varnish it, and the 1st bed was already placed in his twins room. He suddenly felt two arms snake around his waist and a cheek was pressed against his sweaty back.

"Well, well look who decided to grace me with their presense."

"I missed you Shikamaru."

"Heh it was only one day troublesome woman." He turned around and embraced her and whispered that he definitely missed her too.

"Were the boys too much trouble?"

"Course not! They got to spend time with their cool dad to make new beds. Oh yea, they broke the last ones again."

"That's not too bad, its an improvement! These beds lasted 1 week longer than the last one! And jeez Shikamaru, you really need a bath!"

"Hey its not like you look any better. AH! I see a scratch!!"

"WHAT? That is so not a scratch! It's just mud and dirt!"

"Oh that's too bad, Ino. Looks like I get a massage for a week now!" Shikamaru said in a sing song voice before letting his wife go to place the unfinished bed into the living room. He sat down on the sofa to let his wife use the bathroom first.

"Oi, Shikamaru."

"MMmmm…?"

"Are you going to take a shower or not?" She was already halfway in the bathroom when she said that and Shikamaru didn't need an IQ of 200 to know what she wanted.


	3. Say what?

Disclaimer: I dont own Naruto but i love the characters.

"What's Shikamaru doing sitting over there?"

Is it just me or is that boy talking to himself?! If I sneak closer I think I'll be able to find out what he's mumbling.

Yamanaka Ino was walking towards the top of the hill where her boyfriend Nara Shikamaru was waiting. Out of the blue right after her week long mission he had sent a note to her telling her to meet him there. It was really unusual because most of the time he would be the one to pick her up and bring her to wherever. He may be the laziest ninja you could ever meet, but when it came to Ino, he was definitely not so lazy anymore. To think Ino had to force him to show affection once in a while was dumb, Shikamaru was a sneaky one. One time Ino was just in the exciting part of her book when he just grabbed her book and brought her onto his lap. You don't need to know what happened after that.

Once Ino got close enough she could hear short speeches, as if he was preparing himself for some big hoo-haa.

* * *

"Ok Ino. I love you." Ugh, what kind of dunderhead am I, thought Shikamaru. He who usually had more than 200 strategies up his sleeve before he even went onto the battlefield seemed almost easier than what he was trying to put into words.

"Ok Ino. I love you and it's been fantastic." Noooooo, shes probably going to think I'm breaking up with her and then she's going to take off and run to Sakura and then Sakura would probably hunt me down and beat me up… That woman is seriously scary! How can Naruto stand her?! Oops I'm getting off topic here.

"Ok Ino. I love you and there isn't anything I want more than to be with you." YAATTAA!! HA! Who's the genius? No wait… That's too short… Not to mention unromantic… Wait wait… Come on Nara… Think think think…

* * *

To say Yamanaka Ino was confused would be undercutting it. She couldn't hear a single thing Shikamaru had said because the wind was howling so strongly. Then again if it wasn't for the howling wind Shikamaru, an Anbu-class ninja would have heard her already. Though some credit was to Ino, since she was Jounin-class but decided that teaching was more her calling. After she had reached Jounin, Shikamaru had suggested that maybe she try teaching at the academy.

She was furious at first, thinking that Shikamaru thought that she was incapable of being a good Jounin. It turned out that Shikamaru had seen her teaching one of the academy students how to throw Shuriken and was so patient that she was pretty much made for the job. She took his advice and tried it out for a week or two, only to discover that she loved children and she loved the way their eyes lit up when they called for her, Ino-sensei!!

"Ino, you can come down from the tree you know."

WWaaahhhh! She got so startled by his voice that she toppled down from the branch.

And Shikamaru, knowing her oh-so-well was already waiting beneath the tree to catch her. The first thing he did obviously was to kiss her on the temple and smirk evilly.

"Now you owe me big time little lady."

"Shikamaru!! What do you think you're doing sneaking up on me like that?"

"Haha I think it's the other way. What were you doing sneaking up on me and then hiding up on a tree?"

"Well… I was… Admiring the scenery from there! Is that a crime buster?! And put me down Nara Shikamaru!!" Wow… admiring the scenery, great excuse Ino. She mentally slapped herself.

Shikamaru put her down and started to walk towards the tree again. He sat down and waved her over to join him. Ino walked towards him cautiously and then sat down to lean on his shoulder. They sat in very comfortable silence for a while until Shikamaru broke it.

"Ino, marry me." Oh great!! That just came out! What happened to the 500 word speech you prepared?!

"Wha-what?"

"I said, Yamanaka Ino, I love you, I want to be with you, I want to marry you."

Wow. That's Shikamaru alright. Straight to the point.

"Mmmmm… I'll think about it." She teased and went back to his shoulder.

"…"

"Ok, I've thought about it! Hahaha you dope! Did you think for a second that I would say no?"

"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT WOMAN!"

"Aawwwhhh Shika I love you too"


End file.
